NOVAS broadly welcomes the Housing For All plan
NOVAS broadly welcomes the new Housing For All plan and its commitment to ending homelessness by 2030. Through the delivery of more social and affordable homes, increased delivery of housing generally and a commitment to extending the Housing First Programme nationally, the plan seeks to eradicate homelessness by the end of the decade.
Specific commitments to build more than 300,000 homes by 2030, with particular targets for social and affordable housing as well as cost rental, are essential. If the commitment to deliver 90,000 social homes by 2030 is achieved, it will have a seismic impact on reducing our over-reliance on the private sector to solve the social housing crisis and will provide security of tenure on an unprecedented scale for thousands of low-income households.
NOVAS’ Head of Policy and Communications, Una Burns notes that ‘the scale of social housing is very welcome, particularly relating to one-bed units. Single people spend the longest time homeless because of the lack of small units of move-on accommodation. Increasing this stock is essential in reducing long-term homelessness and an over-reliance on emergency and temporary accommodation. It is absolutely essential that such targets are met. NOVAS look forward to working with government to play its part in achieving the ambitions set out in the plan.’
NOVAS warmly supports the commitment to an inter-departmental and cross-government approach to supporting homeless people, both through the extension of Housing First and also through specific commitments to provide targeted health interventions for people who are homeless with specific consideration to their complex needs.
The plan is ambitious and the targets are high. Examining our annual house building output in recent years, points to the challenges faced by government. The targets must be met. We must move away from a reliance on private rented accommodation to meet social housing demands. We must prevent homelessness and provide security and safety for our vulnerable groups in society.
